Voices of the People, Cincinnati, OH 1995
Partners:
WKRC-TV (CBS)
The Community Press Chain of Suburban Weeklies
Q102 and WNNK Radio
An unusual partnership, with TV taking the lead and enlisting suburban weeklies rather than one large daily, “Voices of the People” sought, according to its mission statement, “to empower citizens by making sure their voices are heard and by showing their involvement does make a difference.”
Short on resources when it first kicked off in May 1995, the partners simply had staffers each call 10 people from the telephone directory and discuss their needs and issues that affected their lives. Pew support allowed the partners to hire a community coordinator to organize projects under the “Voices of the People” umbrella.
One of the first issues the partners tackled was public funding of sports stadiums, the subject of a special referendum on March 19, 1996. In the weeks leading up to the referendum, Community Press newspapers invited readers to send in their questions about the issue and answered the questions in weekly columns. Similarly, WKRC answered two to three viewers’ questions on its nightly newscast and Sunday morning public affairs show, culminating in a March 15 televised special in which citizens questioned a panel of experts on the pros and cons of stadium funding. Turn-out on the referendum was a record-breaking 49 percent of registered voters – more than double the turn-out for the 1992 elections.
In July, WKRC traveled to four communities – one each week for an exercise in public listening. Reporters spent the first three days of the week in the community simply talking to citizens. Thursday featured a live broadcast from the town, followed by a town meeting on local issues. The partners also convened six town hall meetings with voters questioning congressional candidates running in the November election.
Contacts:
Steve Minium (Former VP News, WKRC-TV)
Vice President of News
Clear Channel Television
1906 Highland Ave.
Cincinnati, OH 45219-3161
TEL: (513) 763-5425
FAX: (513) 421-2873
EMAIL: minium@wkrc.com
Tom Noonan
Community Press Newspapers
5552 Cheviot Rd.
Cincinnati, OH 45247
Phone: (513) 248-8600